View Full Version : "What would happen if I'm going to change them"
teleostomi
06-13-2006, 07:08 PM
What would happen if I'm going to change them
Is this sentence correct? If we change it to "if I were going to," will it be strange?
Mister Micawber
06-13-2006, 11:30 PM
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It definitely seems odd as it stands. A subjunctive seems called for, but your suggested change is odd also. I'm not sure why. The normal expression is
What would happen if I changed / were to change them?
I suppose that nothing would happen if you are/were going to change them (relative future); something would possibly happen only after the change was effected.
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teleostomi
06-14-2006, 03:08 AM
Thanks Mister Mic.
What would happen if I were going to change them and acted accordingly.
Would this be still a little strange?
Mister Micawber
06-14-2006, 03:55 AM
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Interesting. Semantically, it seems more reasonable, certainly. I hesitate to try to analyze the syntax, though.
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danmahaffey
06-14-2006, 11:42 AM
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Interesting. Semantically, it seems more reasonable, certainly. I hesitate to try to analyze the syntax, though.
.Oh, come on. Analyze it. ;)
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